ALA Booklist (Wed Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Young science-whiz Victor has it all figured out. His erupting volcano has a 97 percent chance of winning the science fair (the scale-model toga-wearing fleeing Pompeians alone are worth 13 percent). What he doesn't figure is that in the week following him finishing and displaying it, a lightning bolt will reawaken a dormant Ben Franklin, who has been sleeping in an electrical muck-filled box hidden in a secret basement for the past couple centuries. Ben had himself put into suspended animation so that he could help humanity in the future, and that's just what he does as long as you consider running amok after imbibing too much electricity (he functions as a walking/rampaging rechargeable battery) and destroying Victor's volcano to be helpful. It's a light, funny read, and McElligott's many diagrams, graphs, and drawings are a nice addition. Depending on kids' tolerance for outlandish sciencey gobbledygook, this should be a welcome diversion to pass the hours between scoring science-fair ribbons and exploding home chemistry sets.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

What if Benjamin Franklin didn't die but instead placed himself in suspended animation so he could come back in the future to help humanity? This situation confronts young Victor, who's just trying to win the science fair. The bizarre and entertaining plot thickens as reanimated Ben is half founding-father, half rampaging monster. Effectively varied illustrations include both molecular diagrams and zombie stick figures.

Kirkus Reviews

Nerdy Victor is literally blasted out of his compulsively regimented ways when "Frank Benjamin," waking from 200 years of suspended animation, moves into a nearby apartment. Being a human battery with electricity-conducting bolts embedded in his neck and veins filled with "harmonic fluid," Ben—er, Frank—has a tendency to run amok when overcharged or devolve into a zombielike state when the juice runs low—conditions that the authors exploit to hilarious effect as they send young Victor scurrying across Philadelphia after his new neighbor and mentor, discovering a secret lab buried beneath their rundown building and rebuilding his elaborate but derivative science-fair volcano into an experimental one so massively destructive that even Victor is left impressed and proud. Frequent technical diagrams and actual patent drawings add a luster of Real Science to the antics, and 18th-century veneer is provided by Poor Richard's Almanack style borders and display type. The balance struck between Victor's methodical approach and Ben's "we'll have to trust our instincts, whack away at the problem, and hope for the best" attitude provide some food for thought, too. Expect sequels. (Sci-fantasy. 10-12)

School Library Journal (Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gr 4-6 Benjamin Franklin never died. Instead, a secret organization called the Modern Order of Prometheus, of which he was a member, placed him in suspended animation in a hidden Philadelphia cellar, to serve the nation at a later time. In the 21st century, Franklin indeed awakes, but the Prometheans are nowhere to be found. Above the cellar live a young science nerd, Victor Godwin, and his mother. Franklin, trying to understand why he has been awakened, asks to rent a room in the house. Even though he does smell a little like he has spent too much time in a cave and has a greenish complexion, Victor's mom is happy to obligeafter all, he pays the deposit in 1783 gold coins. Franklin also needs regular charges of electricity to stay alive, but when hit by lightning, he temporarily transforms into a real Franklinstein. Victor is one of the funniest nerds in children's literature. He doesn't take long to divine Franklin's secret and is off on expeditions to help him find the Prometheans while trying, with the famous inventor's help, to win top prize in the school science fair. The mock 18th-century illustrations are great fun, and readers can look forward to sequels. Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX